Wolf seniors Landon Roberts, Lyla Stuurmans (2), and Mia Farris are Coupeville High School Athlete of the Year winners.
They were made for every season.
When Coupeville High School announced its Athlete of the Year winners Monday, the three honorees shared one thing in common — they never took a break.
Wolf seniors Mia Farris, Lyla Stuurmans, and Landon Roberts all played three sports, and excelled in all of them, both in terms of stats and team success, and in terms of being leaders for their squads.
Mia Farris hangs out with mom.
Farris, who will exit as a two-time Athlete of the Year after going solo as a junior, played volleyball, basketball, and softball.
She began the year with a bang, helping lead the Wolf spikers to the best season in program history, as they went 18-2, were undefeated until the final day of the season, and brought a 4th place trophy home from the state tourney.
Farris pounded out 174 kills, went low for 179 digs, ripped off 38 service aces, and was indispensable, capable of delivering bone-rattling hits or sacrificing her body for the good of the team.
When basketball season came, “Mia the Magnificent” singed the nets for 112 points and played opportunistic defense, kickstarting many a fastbreak with steals and disrupted passes.
Bringing a close to her stellar CHS run, Farris was a whirlwind on the softball field, patrolling centerfield for a Wolf squad which went 20-3 and split four games at the state tourney.
She hit with power, ran with fleet feet, ran down everything on defense, and was a surrogate mom to her younger teammates.
Lyla Stuurmans brings the thunder.
Sharing Athlete of the Year honors with her is Stuurmans, who started her final run as a Wolf by being named Northwest 2B/1B League MVP during the volleyball season.
Rising up to the roof and spraying lasers, she filled up the stat sheet with 200 kills, 113 digs, 22 solo blocks, 19 block assists, and 30 service aces.
When Stuurmans moved into basketball season, she made some history, becoming the first Wolf girl to play five years at the varsity level, and finished as the #45 scorer in program history.
But while she had some pop on offense, it was defense where the ever-springy one really made her mark — which is probably why she was named Defensive MVP for her senior campaign.
Bouncing on her tippy toes, always moving, always harassing rival ballhandlers, she played a beautiful ballet without the ball.
While frequently coming up with said ball after a steal, a rebound, or a hustle play to poke the orb free.
Plus, Stuurmans, among the most serene of superstars, managed to get her first-ever technical foul on the hardwood, and did it in style, causing a cranky ol’ ref to lose his cool for reasons which still make no sense.
Legendary.
Closing things out, Stuurmans returned to the track oval, legs blazing, as she advanced to state in the 800 and 1600.
She made it to the year’s biggest meet in all four of her seasons, qualifying nine times over the years and bringing home three medals.
Landon Roberts glides in for a bucket.
Joining his female counterparts is Landon Roberts, who is the fourth member of his family to be honored as a CHS Athlete of the Year winner.
Dad (Jon Roberts), Mom (Sherry Bonacci), and big sis (Lindsey Roberts) were previous winners, making it a clean sweep for the clan.
Landon was a three-sport captain in cross country, basketball, and baseball — the glue which held everything together for the Wolves.
Pounding along on the trails, he helped lead the CHS boys to their second-straight trip to state as a team, as Coupeville cross country claimed back-to-back top 10 finishes in the team standings.
When he transitioned to the hardwood for basketball season, Roberts was a sharp passer, a resolute defender (like Stuurmans he also won Defensive MVP), and an often-deadly shooter.
While he spent a lot of his time setting up his teammates for buckets, continuing his play from previous seasons, he also proved capable of popping some big-time pressure shots in the clutch.
Baseball season provided the cap to Roberts four-year tour of duty with the Wolves, and he faced the reality of being the front man for a roster which was very thin after losses to graduation, family moves, injuries, and spring fever.
Instead of running from the moment, he stood tall, both on the pitcher’s mound, and, in a bit of a surprise, behind the plate, where he became a rock-solid catcher late in life.
Roberts helped keep the Wolves in playoff contention for much of the season, and while their two-year streak of making it to state was snapped, he and his squad went out heads held high.
Now, for his high school finale, he’ll get to play in the All-State feeder games in Anacortes Wednesday night.
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